James P. Hicks became a
knowledgeable collector of African American history and Black memorabilia
quite by accident. In 1990 an impromptu trip to an antique shop ignited
his passion to collect anything documenting or depicting Black Americana.
Hicks, a locksmith at the University of Iowa went on the road searching
shops, auctions and flea markets throughout the Midwest. He studied the
market of collectibles and Black history. Today he has amassed a superb
array of over 1100 memorabilia items depicting Negro stereotyping and
rare historical items documenting African Americans political, cultural
and historical experience.

Hicks states, At first
I was offended by the caricatures which showed Blacks in a negative, stereotypic
light." Among Hicks advertising pieces is a tin whiskey sign
from 1898 depicting a Negro family with whiskey, chickens and watermelons.
The advertisements with distorted images of Negroes and their lives stand
in sharp contrast to the experience told in slave narratives, Negro newspapers
and two centuries of literature in Hicks book collection.

Hicks urges people to detach
from the offensive first impact of the items to see their historical context.
We have to tell the whole story, to learn what our American history
books failed to report and to recognize the blatant, yet subtle use of
stereotypes in toys, advertising and entertainment.
Hicks is one of a growing number of collectors of Black Americana. Over
the last 15 years there has been a shift in consciousness favoring the
collecting of the Black memorabilia. Some people collect with the express
purpose of removing these images from the landscape. Others, like Hicks,
feel that understanding the history of the African American is important
to understanding race relations today. The slave was treated miserably,
inhumanly. Post slavery generations were suppressed in other ways.

Hicks says, Racism
was indoctrinated into our culture. Through this exhibit, others can learn
more of Black history and come to appreciate the progress and achievements
of African Americans. Perhaps, we can look at our own misperceptions.
Collecting is my passion, says Hicks. The discovery
and the hunt has become my sport. I subscribe to three antique newsletters
and my network of fellow collectors and auctioneers alert me to pieces
on the market. Most of the items held by dealers and collectors today
are too expensive for me to afford now that Black collecting has become
hot. I search out estate sales and auctions where occasionally
rare or unique pieces will surface from boxes in the attic. If Im
lucky, I can get pieces at a price I can afford. A woman who heard me
speak at the Johnson County Heritage Museum sold me one of my most valued
pieces, a broadside to announce a rally in Jefferson County, Iowa to oppose
Negro suffrage. She wanted it to be a part of my collection.

My hope for my collection
is that it can be exhibited widely to a broad audience. The exhibit raises
our awareness of the determination, fortitude and heart of African Americans
who have come from slavery to their roles of leadership and contribution
to American industry and invention today. The exhibit is a celebration
of triumph of the spirit, and only in this sharing and experiencing of
history can it be recognized and appreciated.

Perhaps someone seeing this
collection will catch the fever and begin to collect where I have left
off (approximately 1980s), so that future generations can continue
to document the African American experience along side mainstream American
history.